sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Bow Tie Day!
National Bow Tie Day is a day for the necktie that resembles a bow. The roots of the bow tie go back to the 17th century, when Croatian mercenaries during the Thirty Years' War wore scarves around their necks to hold together the openings of their shirts. The upper class of France began wearing the scarves, which were then known as cravats, and were popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. It is from cravats that the modern-day bow tie descends. Bow ties are most often associated with formal events such as weddings and black tie events, or the even more formal white tie events. But, bow ties can be worn in more casual settings as well. Sometimes they are seen as being worn by those who are old fashioned, cerebral, or nerdy, and although they have not been as popular as the four-in-hand necktie, they have made a resurgence in recent years. Men or most often times associated with wearing the bow tie, but since the 1980's many women have been donning them. Bow ties can be self-tie, pre-tied, or clip-on, and there are also many different shapes that bow ties can be.
SU News
Data breakdown: Syracuse’s defensive strain, exceptional special teams (DO; Dabbundo)
After Syracuse head coach Dino Babers fired defensive coordinator Brian Ward following a Nov. 2 blowout 58-27 loss to Boston College, the Orange’s defense continued to struggle. Louisville and Wake Forest moved the ball routinely against SU. The Cardinals ran for 370 yards, and the Demon Deacons passed for 421.
In the offseason, SU hired Tony White from Arizona State to implement a 3-3-5 defense in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic stalled progress in learning the new system leading up to the Orange’s season-opener on Sept. 12, Babers said.
Most notably, SU is replacing Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson — its top two pass rushers who combined for 8.5 sacks in 2019 — and at least five starters from the group that began the final game against Wake Forest last season. The secondary might be the strongest point on the Orange’s entire roster with returning safety Andre Cisco and corners Trill Williams and Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Below is part two of The D.O.’s analytical season preview, which highlights Syracuse’s defense and special teams, with data from Football Outsiders and collegefootballdata.com.
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Q&A with Syracuse football recruit Duce Chestnut: ‘I hate losing more than I like winning’
Syracuse Football: Let’s take the Orange to Fenway Park for a 2020 bowl (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse football could make a trip to Boston in the 2020 post-season, according to bowl projections from CBS Sports.
Assuming that a fall campaign is played amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, if Syracuse football can muster up enough victories within its challenging 11-game slate, one national expert has the Orange headed to Boston to play in a new bowl game.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, in releasing his latest predictions for the 2020 bowl line-up, is slotting the ‘Cuse to the new Fenway Bowl in Boston, which is scheduled to take place on Dec. 20. Palm is forecasting Syracuse football to battle with the University of Louisiana Monroe, out of the Sun Belt Conference.
In September of last year, Fenway Sports Management, ESPN Events and the city of Boston announced the creation of the Fenway Bowl, beginning in 2020 and matching squads from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the American Athletic Conference.
This new annual bowl game will transpire at Fenway Park, the historic home of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. At the time that this event got unveiled, officials involved in developing it said that the Fenway Bowl would represent the first bowl game played at Fenway Park, which is pretty cool.
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Syracuse Football: Todd McShay ranks Andre Cisco too low (itlh; Mlodzinski)
Andre Cisco is quite possibly the best defensive player that Syracuse football has had in years. But Todd McShay doesn’t exactly agree.
ESPN NFL Draft expert, Todd McShay listed his top-50 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft. Not included? Syracuse football standout and AP First-Team All-American, Andre Cisco.
Sure, we’re nearing the half-way point to April Fools Day, but this is not a joke. Nope, a player that has been projected as a first-round pick isn’t even on McShay’s board of the top-50 prospects.
But it gets even worse from there.
McShay has the NCAA’s active leader in interceptions is listed as number NINETY-ONE (91) on his draft board. In other words, that’s 68 spots lower than his best draft projection and doesn’t quite add up to his first-team selection by the Associated Press.
Even more mind-boggling? The fact that McShay has six safeties ahead of Cisco in his rankings. Oregon’s Jevon Holland came in at 20th. TCU’s Trevon Moehrig checked in two spots later at 22nd. Still, four more safeties between 60 and 74 were named before Cisco at 91st.
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The “Syracuse 8” (there were actually nine; one not pictured) boycotted their 1970 football season at Syracuse University and achieved gains for racial equality on the team. (Courtesy Syracuse Library Special Collections)
Sieger: Remembering another historic sports boycott (thereporter.com; Sieger)
August 26, 2020, may go down as a watershed moment in the history of sports activism. But it won’t be the first time athletes have boycotted for racial equality.
In 1970, nine members of the Syracuse football team remembered erroneously as the “Syracuse 8,” made a stand for equality. When their demands were denied, they boycotted their team’s season. They sacrificed their athletic careers, and it took the university 36 years to make a formal apology.
But the sacrifices of Gregory Allen, Richard Bulls, John Godbolt, Dana Harrell, John Lobon, Clarence “Bucky” McGill, A. Alif Muhammad, Duane Walker and Ron Womack did lead to fundamental changes in the way the school ran its football program.
Their complaints included a lack of playing time, especially against other schools that weren’t integrated; Black players were told they couldn’t date white women; and they were not allowed to take advanced courses while on the team, while white athletes allegedly had no such policy. They also asked that the program hire a Black assistant coach.
The players first met at Syracuse in the late 1960s, after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Robert Kennedy. They were all working-class kids from inner cities.
At the time, Syracuse was a nationally prominent football program with the proud legacy of Jim Brown, one of the greatest football players of all time, and Ernie Davis, who in 1961 became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
When Allen first arrived at Syracuse, the coach who had recruited him picked him up at the airport. Allen told WBUR radio about his ride to the university.
“We get in the car and we begin, you know, the small talk. You know, ‘Greg, Gee, I’m glad you’re here. We want you to have a good time while you’re at Syracuse. We want you to get a good education. We want you to grow. We want you to have a great career as a football player. But the one thing we’re gonna ask you to do is not date any white girls while you’re here.’
“It was a little bit of a shock for me, because I knew that I had traveled north of the Mason-Dixon Line, not below it.”
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SU Top 100: Biggest Surprises – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; May)
We did it. We have officially made it through our SU Top 100 list. To do something like this takes a lot of time and effort. It’s definitely not easy. The staff at Orange Fizz is proud of the list we came up with, but obviously nothing is perfect. So this week, we will be looking back at our work to see where we can improve.
We’ve already released the “Biggest Snubs,” “Most Underrated” and “Most Overrated.” Now, we are doing our best Swaggy P impression (please tell me you get that reference) and looking at the “Biggest Surprises.” Here are the athletes that made the list who we were surprised by:
BRAD: STERLING HOFRICHTER
There is something to be said for being the best at your position in program history. Sterling Hofrichter is the best punter to ever do it on the Hill, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a punter. I understand he had three All-ACC selections, and two first-team nods. He is the only player to be selected to the conference’s all first-team multiple times. Hofrichter was a Ray Guy Award finalist for punter of the year in each of his four seasons. My biggest gripe with Hofrichter being on this list is that he never won the Ray Guy Award. For a position like punter, my mental criteria is a little higher than it is for others. To know that there was a better punter than Hofrichter out there each season just doesn’t cut it.
GILL: ZAIRE FRANKLIN
The best thing going for four-year starting linebacker Zaire Franklin was his longevity and leadership. Only four players in SU football history can say they were captain for three years, as voted by fellow teammates. Franklin started every single football game over his four years. So while Franklin was an essential locker room character, he just wasn’t a good enough player to be on his list, much less the top-75. His highest honor is an All-ACC Third team in his junior year. That doesn’t quite cut it here.
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Fortuna: In the ACC, optimism about the season prevails despite campus problems (theathletic.com; $; Fortuna)
Minutes apart, from rooms just 80 miles apart, Mack Brown and Dave Clawson got behind their computers and expressed the most buoyant tones about the 2020 ACC season to date.
“I’m feeling more like we’re gonna play right now than ever before,” the North Carolina coach said on a Zoom call Wednesday from Chapel Hill, N.C.
“I think there’s greater optimism than ever that we are going to play,” the Wake Forest coach said on another Zoom call from Winston-Salem. “We certainly are full speed ahead with our preparation.”
Roughly an hour earlier, in the same state, the ACC was already forced to flex its scheduling contingency plans, moving the NC State-Virginia Tech opener from Sept. 12 to Sept. 26 because of a COVID-19 cluster identified this week within the Wolfpack athletic program.
But the postponement, according to Brown, was a good thing.
“Seeing the NC State game being moved is a positive, that people are still trying to make this craziness work out so we can play,” Brown said.
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ACC Football: Top 15 Must-See Games of 2020 (athlonsports.com; Kensing)
Five-time defending ACC champ Clemson will be in the spotlight every game this fall
The 2020 ACC football schedule is nothing if not historic.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the three Power 5 conferences participating in a fall 2020 season recalibrated its schedule. Part of that included adding affiliate member Notre Dame into the fold — the first time the Fighting Irish have been members of a football conference.
Certainly, Notre Dame's addition to try and dethrone Clemson is the most prominent storyline, but the ACC is full of fascinating angles in this non-traditional campaign. With new head coaches at Boston College and Florida State, a surprising contender emerging in North Carolina, and several possible dark-horse spoilers up and down the league, the ACC offers plenty of unknowns in 2020 — fitting, given the kind of year this has been.
15. Virginia at Clemson, Oct. 3
The 2019 ACC Championship Game runs it back early in the slate. Virginia's surprising campaign rivals 2007 among the program's best in recent memory and can be a building block for Bronco Mendenhall. Stacking up with Clemson is the ultimate goal, whether in the ACC or elsewhere. At the very least, Virginia gets to measure its progress against the best.
14. Syracuse at Pittsburgh, Sept. 19
In 2017, Syracuse scored a milestone win in the young tenure of head coach Dino Babers when they stunned defending national champion Clemson. The following year, the Orange broke through for 10 wins and expectations elevated. However, Syracuse fell flat after an early-season blowout loss to Maryland and never regrouped.
An early matchup with a promising Pitt could similarly shape the 2020 campaign for Syracuse — and ditto for the Panthers. With Kenny Pickett back behind center and one of the more imposing defensive lines in the conference, which will miss Jaylen Twyman, Pitt could be a dark-horse contender.
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Nuthin' but the Rent (RX; HM)
Nuthin' but the Rent
We often focus so much on conference revenue that we forget to consider expenses - and there are some really big differences there! For instance, how much does each conference pay to rent its headquarters? Consider this info tweeted by Kyle Bonagura:
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Best ACC FB Games of 2020 (RX; HM)
Best ACC FB Games of 2020
From Sporting News' "Best college games of 2020 by week", here are the top picks each week, along with any ACC-related commentary and "other" games...
Week 1: BYU at Navy (Sept. 7)
Week 2: SMU at TCU (Sept. 12)
Others: UAB at Miami (Sept. 10), Clemson at Wake Forest, Duke at Notre Dame
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Links, news and rumors - 8/27/20 (RX; HM)
Links, news and rumors - 8/27/20
News of the schedule...
USF at Notre Dame on 9/19/20 is now official.
Still no word from UVA on which team the Cavaliers will play out-of-conference, if any. What we are hearing is that they will not try to fill the 9/12 date, making the 9/19 game in Blacksburg the season opener for both sides of the Commonwealth Cup.
So the 2020 TV schedule is waiting on the Wahoos, I guess? Typical.
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https://www.radio.com/wfnz/sports/c...ck-gives-his-expectations-for-the-acc-in-2020 (radio.com; radio; Bailey & DeDock)
The columnist for the Raleigh News & Observer joined Kyle Bailey today on the Clubhouse to give his thoughts on the Panthers in 2020, and what he thinks the ACC might look like in 2020.
The first thing Luke weighed in on was his outlook for the Panthers and he said because of the turnover across the board and everything going on with COVID it feels like this is the start of a 2 year process for Rhule to get everything in place. Luke says his expectations are slow, but people need to give this regime time and let everything marinate.
Kyle then wanted Luke to discuss the cluster at NC State that has postponed their season opener against Virginia Tech as Luke says that this is a good sign that the schedule has flexibility for instances like this so the game can still be played.
Kyle also wanted Luke to weigh in on his overall outlook of play in the ACC this fall and if it will lead to a better product and Luke responded:
" Yeah I think so. Clemson continues to be loaded, but you add a threat in North Carolina and you now add Notre Dame into the mix as a full time member for this year as well which will change things. The Clemson dynamic of if anyone can catch Clemson this year is less interesting than how many teams have the potential to beat them which is higher than before in my eyes."
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Clemson Football: ACC must be flexible for 2020 season to be played (rubbingtherock.com; Spencer)
There are going to be challenges for Clemson football and the ACC as they attempt to play a fall season
As Clemson football and the Atlantic Coast Conference look to play the 2020 season this fall, one word has to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind: Flexibility.
The season is just a little more than two weeks away from kickoff and we’re already seeing the challenges that are going to come with trying to get teams on the field week-in and week-out.
Last week, both Notre Dame and North Carolina paused football workouts after outbreaks on their campus, though there was not a significant number of positive results within the two teams. NC State has paused its workouts due to an outbreak of more than 20 student-athletes and the results have seen the Wolfpack push back their season-opening game against Virginia Tech to Sept. 26, when the two teams have a bye week.
While some will look at that situation as ‘the first domino’ to fall in the cancellation of the season, the ACC and Clemson football need to look at it for what it is: A learning experience.
For this Clemson football season to happen, everyone has to remain flexible
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Odds to win the ACC championship: Bettors are sleeping on Pitt (thescore.com; Kolodziej)
Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.
The 2020-21 college football season is already off to a raucous start. If it wants an even crazier finish, a program not named Clemson will win the ACC.
The Tigers have set the standard, winning the conference in each of the last five years. Does another team have what it takes to dethrone one of the nation's top powerhouses?
Odds to win the ACC
TEAM ODDS
| Clemson | -350 |
| Notre Dame | +500 |
| Miami | +1600 |
| North Carolina | +1600 |
| Florida State | +2000 |
| Pittsburgh | +4000 |
| Virginia Tech | +4000 |
| Louisville | +5000 |
| NC State | +10000 |
| Boston College | +25000 |
| Duke | +25000 |
| Georgia Tech | +25000 |
| Syracuse | +25000 |
| Wake Forest | +25000 |
| Virginia | +25000 |
The favorite
In the least surprising college football news you'll read all day, Clemson (-350) is the favorite to win the ACC.
The Tigers are a perfect 16-0 in ACC play over the last two years. They've lost just two conference games over the previous five years, which includes four trips to the national championship and two wins in the big game.
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College football means big money. Black athletes stand at the intersection of risk and profit. (nbcnews.com; Axson)
As college students return to school — remotely, in-person or a mix of both — so do college athletes. But just because class is in session does not mean every school agrees about whether football players will take the field this year.
These institutions are also quickly learning that containing COVID-19 on campus can be next to impossible, especially as the rate of infection among college-age people spiked over the last six months. And the decisions to bring back college football especially affect Black student-athletes, who make up a disproportionate share of players.
The University of North Carolina initially decided to bring its nearly 30,000 students and 4,000 faculty to campus for in-person instruction, only to reverse course in less than a week and start remote teaching.
Even so, the Atlantic Coast Conference said in a statement that it was "pleased with the protocols being administrated on our 15 campuses" and would make decisions based on "local and state health guidelines, and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities' academic missions."
In the same statement, the conference said it would "continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well." Just this week, another ACC school, North Carolina State University, canceled athletic activities after a cluster of coronavirus cases hit some of its programs.
The conferences themselves have varying degrees of optimism about the 2020 season, with the Big Ten and the Pacific-12 conferences postponing their football seasons until the spring. Still, other conferences, including the Big 12, the Southeastern Conference and the ACC, are planning fall seasons.
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Boston College football sits out practice in response to racial injustice (PS; $; Mink)
Boston College football did not practice Thursday, instead holding a team meeting with coaches to discuss racial injustice issues in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake earlier this week.
Boston College issued a statement Thursday saying the team spoke about “educating one another, maintaining dialogue to help bring our community together and invoking change in our society.”
The pause on practice comes one day after professional athletes in basketball, baseball and soccer refused to play games in protest of systemic racism and police brutality.
It’s the first known instance of college athletes taking action after Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times in the back by police in Wisconsin.
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Other
House of the Week: Downtown Syracuse living ‘does not get much better’ than this Franklin Street apartment (PS; Croyle)
Sometimes a property is a perfect match for someone’s personality.
Jack Butts, for instance, describes himself as “quiet and reserved” but also someone who wanted to live in an urban setting and be able to socialize often with his family and friends.
He found everything he wanted in a beautiful apartment at Mission Landing at Franklin Square in downtown Syracuse, whose motto promises that each of its 47 residences is as “unique as its owner.”
In 2015, he was looking to move from Rome to downtown Syracuse for business reasons. When he toured apartment 214, the only unit on the second floor of Mission Landing’s “fourth core,” he was hooked.
“It really does not get any better than this for downtown living,” Butts said.
Despite its setting in the middle of downtown, Butts said he had a feeling of being “in the countryside” whenever he looked out of any of the apartments ten large windows.
Below him was the Onondaga Creekwalk, where people biked, jogged, and even fished. In the summer, he said he was surrounded by trees and flowers; in the colder months he said it looked like a “winter wonderland” outside.
He said enjoyed the sunset from his window every night and called his master suite a “retreat” because it was so quiet and peaceful.
Butts loves the main living space in his apartment, an open great room consisting of the kitchen, dining room, and living room, which is great for entertaining.
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